But the ADB also says that despite the gloom, Asia is relatively well positioned to avoid the worst effects of the crisis, as long as it is vigilant against any slowdown.

"2009 is likely to be a difficult year for developing Asia but it will be manageable if countries respond decisively and collectively," Lee Jong-Wha, head of ADB's Office of Regional Economic Integration, said.

"Swift action by policymakers to stem both the threat to the financial systems and the real economy will allow most of the region's economies to sustain a healthy, if slower, expansion."

Jan Friederich, a senior economist with the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the figures cited by the ADB are far more optimistic than the reality.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said: "The ADB has probably worked on this report for quite a while and has not been able to fully factor in all the developments that came in over the last four weeks - with dramatically falling export figures in a number of countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and China.

"In comparison to the ADB, we are more pessimistic because we see the South Korean economy for example, contracting by 1.7 per cent, while they [the ADB], see it as growing by two or three per cent. I think they are behind the curve."

Testing time

The report also says that despite a hefty build-up of foreign exchange reserves since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the global credit crunch is testing Asian banks' ability to keep lending.